Creatively Confident but Financially Failing

Although I freelance as a writer, I need to earn some more money. I have a great business idea - I know, everyone thinks their business idea is great, but I'm hoping that mine is one that actually lives up to its expectations!

Setting up a business here in Sweden is easy. Basically you tell everyone you have a business and start working at it! You need to take care of the tax forms etc but there's not a lot of red tape you would expect in other countries. You don't even have to register a company name if you just want to trade under your own! So, as long as you have an idea, you just have to come up with your starting capital. 

I would have liked to be financed for the first six months of my business, you know, the
paying-out-for-materials-without-having-anything-to-sell-yet period. This is a possibility and so, confident that I had an idea that would knock their socks off, I completed the necessary paperwork and took it to the relevant person last week. Unfortunately, it wasn't good enough.
The form filling that is! He liked my idea, even said it was original. That's good news; at least I know I'm on the right track! But I was too honest. I've worked in the business world long enough to expect a large turnover in the first year is pretty much doubtful and a profit just a
dream! So I completed my financial targets within what I thought was acceptable for a first year of trading as a new company. Not advisable. Despite the job center telling me that it usually takes about 5 years to see a profit here in Sweden, I was supposed to put on my form that I would be able to make the equivalent of around $700 per month in my first year! Say what? The man then went on to recommend that I change my figures. 

I explained that this was not going to happen. These figures were not achievable and I wasn't going to set up a business that would be doomed for failure owing to setting targets that were grossly inflated. So he said that there is no way I would qualify for a business loan, or
the six-month finance scheme based on my figures. He did concede that they were more reasonable than what was required, but that doesn't help me much! So having had much discussion with a husband who is so supportive of my dreams it's untrue, we are going it alone. It would have been nice to have the money from the government, not only because it would help keep us out of the poverty line whilst setting up the business, but also because it would have been their stamp of approval - someone else saying "We believe in you and your project!" 

Creative is going to be my catchword for the foreseeable future! Creative business built on creative financial management. Let's hope it doesn't make for creative bookkeeping at the end of the financial year! 

On another note, Jake is now starting to find his legs. Not only walking, but climbing. Why can't he be normal and spend time eyeing things up and thinking about it before actually doing it. This child just gets up and does things with no warning at all. Well, I guess that in itself is a warning happening now for the shape of things to come in the future! 

Katie-Anne, 2001